God comes

God comes to visit me every once in a while. Actually, he comes more often than I'd like but it's God. What can I say? That I'm busy, that I'm in the shower? He knows.

~Robert 'Bob' Rebadow, OZ

So don't you see?

So don't you see? Everything that we do, the plans we make, the hopes we have, they're futile. Being good at a job, which I was, building a home, which I did, raising a family...which I had, none of it means anything because no matter how we try, how much we strive and struggle, it'll all come to naught. Life is a waste of time. So, that's why I'm counting on you to kill me. You will, won't you?

~Lemuel Idzik

They say that

They say that Every Snowflake is diffrent. But how can They really be sure? I mean, Think of all the Snowflakes that have fallen all over the World throughout Earth's History. The Law of Averages dictate that at least two of Them had to be Similar. Like Human Beings, like the Men in Oz, Even if They start out Unique, They all end up the same.

~Augustus Hill, OZ

Yeah, who cares

Yeah, who cares who lives or dies in prison? We read the names in the morning paper and they mean nothing to us. They're faceless. Truth is, we don't wanna put a face on 'em. We don't want to know who they really are. Because then it might hit too close to home, and home is what it's all about, right? Ma...king a home no matter where you are, no matter who you are. At the end of the day, everybody wants somewhere to rest, somewhere to lay their bones, even if it's in a land called Oz. Yeah, like Dorothy says when she wakes up in her own bed back at Aunt Em's, "There's no place like home." There's no fucking place like home.

~Augustus Hill, OZ

Clemency

Clememcy. Thats a fancy word for mercy. The Governor can commute a death sentence. He has the power to pick up the phone and just say No. But to me, the only time the Governor shows clemency is when he don't make that call. Life in prison without parole is a shitload worse than death. Death is parole. Death is mercy.

~Augustus Hill

I never lie

I never lie. Not 'cause I'm so honest, but because I have a bad memory. And you can't be a good liar if you got a bad memory.

~Augustus Hill, OZ

Truth is

Truth is a powerful thing. If you right a wrong, or make a bad thing worse, in Oz the truth is, if the facts don't fit the truth, fuck the facts.

~Augustus Hill, OZ

A man stands

A Man stands in a Cemetery, reading a Letter He wrote forgiving His long Dead Father. The Mother of a Girl killed by a Drunk Driver is racked by Fantasies of Retaliation. Your Boyfriend begs You for one more Chance. You say the Mirror You're done hating Yourself. But You know You're not. Maybe instead of Forgive and Forget, it should be Forgive and Remember. Remember that You might have to wake up Tomorrow and Forgive all over Again. And again,and again, The way Your Heart keeps beating like a Drum. Forgive. I Can't. You can. Forgive. Forgive. I can't. You can. Forgive.

~Augustus Hill, OZ

There are some

There are some confessions you can't even make to yourself. Yearnings, desires. That if you admitted to having, you'd have to stop being who you are. And the facade you've built so carefully would crumble, exposing to those around you what really makes you tweak.

~Augustus Hill, OZ

The name

The name on the street for the Oswald Maximum Security Penitentiary. Only, big news: They've changed the name. It's now called the Oswald State Correctional Facility, level four. I don't know what the difference is. Leo Glynn is still warden, Sister Peter Marie is still in psych, Tim McManus is still unit manager of Emerald City, and I know for damn sure none of us have changed. Beecher is still in the hospital after Schillinger and Keller broke his bones. Alvarez is still in solitary after blinding a CO. Adebisi, still in the loony ward, after changing hats. Maybe it's truth in advertising. Maybe by getting rid of the word "penitentiary" the state is finally admitting that nobody's penitent. Nobody's sorry. Nobody.

~Augustus Hill, OZ

In the beginning

In the beginning God was nothing, So he started making stuff, he made the dirt, he made the sky, he made the water, he made things that swim, things that slither, things with legs, I mean God turned himself into a Big Shot, then a couple days, or a couple million years, God breathes life into Man, and hes been sucking the life out of us every since.

~Augustus Hill, OZ

So, what have we learned?

So, what have we learned? What's the lesson for today? For all the never-ending days and restless nights in Oz? That morality is transient? That virtue cannot exist without violence? That to be honest is to be flawed? That the giving and taking of love both debases and elevates us? That God or Allah or Yahweh has... answers to questions we dare not even ask? The story is simple: a man lives in prison and dies. How he dies? That's easy. The who and the why is the complex part. The human part. The only part worth knowing... Peace.”

~Augustus Hill, OZ

Love

Love conquers all?
Never has, never will.

~Augustus Hill, OZ

And love?

And love? Well, if sex is sweet and death is bitter, love is both. Love will always and forever break your heart.

~Augustus Hill, OZ

Telling a man

Telling a man that he can't hold his wife in his arms anymore....If that isn't cruel and unusual punishment, I don't know what is.

~Augustus Hill, OZ

Forget about

Forget about having too much garbage, too many bottles, cans, watermelon rinds, disposable baby diapers and such. What's really terrifying in terms of the long term health of the planet is toxic waste. Toxic waste, you can't put two worse words together except maybe (pause) nuclear war.

~Augustus Hill, OZ

The worst stab wound

The worst stab wound is the one to the heart. Sure, most people survive it, but the heart is never quite the same. There's always a scar, which is meant, I guess, to remind you that even for a little while, someone made your heart beat faster. And that's a scar you can live with, proudly, all the days of your life.

~Augustus Hill, OZ

You made your bed

"You made your bed, now lie in it." Anybody wanna tell me what the fuck that means? You're gonna go to the trouble of making up your bed, smoothing out the sheets, fluffing up the pillows, just to ruin it all by lying down. The phrase should be, "You laid in you bed, now make it." Point being, you got to be responsible for your actions. Responsible.

~Augustus Hill, OZ

You swat at a fly

You swat at a fly, step on an ant, squash a cockroach, you don't think much of it. In fact, killing a bug gives you a sense of accomplishment. Fucking ant was ruining your picnic, cockroach was crawling through your kitchen cabinets. You put an end to their disgusting, miserable little lives and make a better world for everyone. Only, for every one you kill, more appear. Bigger, uglier, meaner than before.

~Augustus Hill, OZ

At least

'At least you got your health.' Don't you hate that? You lose your job, you lose your wife, YOU'RE IN PRISON, and some punk ass do gooder says 'At least you got your health' like that's supposed to make you FEEL better! So what if I'm broke? So what if some dealer wants to cap my ass; at least I ain't got a tumor. I swear, the next person to say ALYGYH to me, I'ma make sure they don't have THEIR health much longer.

~Augustus Hill, OZ